Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) was crowned the 2018 OVO Energy Tour of Britain in London on Sunday as Mitchelton-SCOTT’s Caleb Ewan won the eighth and final stage on Regent Street St James.

Ewan, who claimed the stage victory in Central London the last time the race finished there in 2016, outsprinted Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) and André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) at the end of a frantic 77-kilometre stage.

Alaphilippe finished safely in the peloton to win the race and crown a memorable OVO Energy Tour of Britain debut. Team Sky’s Wout Poels, winner of Friday’s Queen stage from Barrow-in-Furness to Whinlatter in Cumbria, finished second overall, with former OVO Energy Green Jersey leader Primoz Roglic completing the podium in third.

Patrick Bevin (BMC Racing Team), who placed fourth overall, won the Wahoo Points Jersey, while Team Dimension Data’s Nic Dlamini finished the stage untroubled to secure the SKODA King of the Mountains Jersey.

The one competition left unresolved at the start of the day, the Eisberg Sprints Jersey, contributed to a thrilling subplot to Stage Eight. Canyon Eisberg’s Alex Paton claimed the jersey after a thrilling battle with nearest challenger Matt Holmes.

Holmes’ Madison Genesis team were continuously on the attack in an attempt to dislodge Paton. The opening lap saw British road race champion Connor Swift break clear with American Taylor Phinney (Team EF Education First-Drapac), a move that Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas bridged across to before it was shut down.

His team-mate and six-time Grand Tour winner Chris Froome also got involved in the action, forming part of a short-lived escape with Holmes, Swift and decorated Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie).

The longest breakaway attempt of the day saw another Team Sky rider, Belarusian and former world time trial champion Vasil Kiryienka ride solo around Piccadilly, Haymarket, the Strand and Whitehall for around 25 kilometres. By that point, Holmes had reduced the gap in the Eisberg Sprints competition to just three points approaching the final prime with 12 kilometres to go, and attacked from the peloton in pursuit on crossing the line to level the scores, a move that ended Kiryienka’s time out front.

However Paton managed to shut down this attack down and went past him to take maximum points; an acceleration that was followed by a sporting handshake between the pair.

The sprinters’ teams then successfully controlled the closing kilometres to set up the much-anticipated bunch sprint on the uphill finish line on Regent Street. Ewan rounded the final corner in the wheel of André Greipel, winner of Stages One and Four already this week, and got the better of all of his rivals to claim an emotional victory. The 24-year-old Australian is not expected to race again for Mitchelton-SCOTT, the team he turned professional with in 2015, before leaving for the Belgian Lotto Soudal squad in 2019.

Complete results:

77.0 kilometers raced at an average speed of 46.880 km/hr

1

EWAN Caleb

Mitchelton-Scott

1hr 38min 33sec

2

GAVIRIA Fernando

Quick-Step Floors

s.t.

3

GREIPEL André

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

4

PASQUALON Andrea

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

5

HAYTER Ethan

Great Britain

s.t.

6

SMITH Dion

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

7

DRUCKER Jempy

BMC

s.t.

8

EEKHOFF Nils

Team Sunweb

s.t.

9

SIMION Paolo

Bardiani-CSF

s.t.

10

BEVIN Patrick

BMC

s.t.

11

CULLAIGH Gabriel

Team Wiggins

s.t.

12

SÜTTERLIN Jasha

Movistar

s.t.

13

ALAPHILIPPE Julian

Quick-Step Floors

s.t.

14

POWLESS Neilson

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

15

RENSHAW Mark

Dimension Data

s.t.

16

MEURISSE Xandro

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

17

ROELANDTS Jürgen

BMC

s.t.

18

ROGLIČ Primož

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

19

LIEPIŅŠ Emīls

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

20

EENKHOORN Pascal

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

21

VAN EMDEN Jos

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

22

DOWSETT Alex

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

23

THWAITES Scott

Dimension Data

s.t.

24

POELS Wout

Sky

s.t.

25

DAVIES Scott

Dimension Data

s.t.

26

CHAVANEL Sylvain

Direct Energie

s.t.

27

ROJAS José Joaquín

Movistar

s.t.

28

STEDMAN Maximilian

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

29

FERNÁNDEZ Rubén

Movistar

s.t.

30

CARTHY Hugh

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

31

MEYER Cameron

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

32

LATHAM Christopher

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

33

HIVERT Jonathan

Direct Energie

s.t.

34

CARDIS Romain

Direct Energie

s.t.

35

SEPÚLVEDA Eduardo

Movistar

s.t.

36

HAMILTON Chris

Team Sunweb

s.t.

37

ZABEL Rick

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

38

WYNANTS Maarten

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

39

MCCORMICK Hayden

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

40

PIDCOCK Thomas

Team Wiggins

s.t.

41

DLAMINI Nic

Dimension Data

s.t.

42

WIŚNIOWSKI Łukasz

Sky

s.t.

43

STRAKHOV Dmitry

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

44

BOUWMAN Koen

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

45

JUNGELS Bob

Quick-Step Floors

s.t.

46

BARBERO Carlos

Movistar

s.t.

47

MARTIN Tony

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

48

SCOTSON Miles

BMC

s.t.

49

GUARDINI Andrea

Bardiani-CSF

s.t.

50

RICHEZE Maximiliano

Quick-Step Floors

s.t.

51

DE BUYST Jasper

Lotto-Soudal

@ 28sec

52

KLUGE Roger

Mitchelton-Scott

0:30

53

ALBANESE Vincenzo

Bardiani-CSF

0:32

54

DOWNEY Mark

Team Wiggins

s.t.

55

STANNARD Ian

Sky

s.t.

56

THOMSON Jay

Dimension Data

s.t.

57

FOUCHE James

Team Wiggins

s.t.

58

PICHOT Alexandre

Direct Energie

s.t.

59

VENTER Jaco

Dimension Data

s.t.

60

SWIFT Connor

Madison Genesis

0:35

61

WRIGHT Alfred

Great Britain

s.t.

62

POWER Robert

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

63

DE LA PARTE Víctor

Movistar

s.t.

64

ANTONINI Simone

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

65

ORAM James

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

66

SCHACHMANN Maximilian

Quick-Step Floors

0:42

67

KEISSE Iljo

Quick-Step Floors

s.t.

68

POLITT Nils

Katusha-Alpecin

0:53

69

THOMAS Geraint

Sky

1:01

70

BAYLIS Tom

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

71

TONELLI Alessandro

Bardiani-CSF

s.t.

72

WILLIAMS Peter

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

73

BRADBURY Edmund

JLT Condor

s.t.

74

VAN GARDEREN Tejay

BMC

s.t.

75

SLATER Alistair

JLT Condor

1:10

76

KEUKELEIRE Jens

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

77

TULIK Angelo

Direct Energie

1:15

78

VERVAEKE Louis

Team Sunweb

1:21

79

FROOME Chris

Sky

s.t.

80

OURSELIN Paul

Direct Energie

s.t.

81

MOSES Thomas

JLT Condor

s.t.

82

HOFSTEDE Lennard

Team Sunweb

s.t.

83

HOFLAND Moreno

Lotto-Soudal

1:28

84

BOSTOCK Matthew

Great Britain

1:33

85

STEWART Thomas

JLT Condor

1:38

86

ROWSELL Erick

Madison Genesis

1:42

87

SWIFT Ben

Great Britain

s.t.

88

WILLIAMS Stephen

Great Britain

1:51

89

PHINNEY Taylor

EF Education First-Drapac

2:02

90

BRESCHEL Matti

EF Education First-Drapac

2:07

91

PATON Alex

Canyon Eisberg

2:14

92

TOWNSEND Rory

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

93

WÜRTZ SCHMIDT Mads

Katusha-Alpecin

2:28

94

NIEVE Mikel

Mitchelton-Scott

2:43

95

KIRYIENKA Vasil

Sky

s.t.

96

MCEVOY Jonathan

Madison Genesis

3:25

97

HANDLEY Richard

Madison Genesis

s.t.

98

PYM George

Madison Genesis

s.t.

99

CHRISTENSEN Ryan

Canyon Eisberg

3:54

100

BAUHAUS Phil

Team Sunweb

3:58

101

SHAW James

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

102

MOULD Jon

JLT Condor

s.t.

103

BARBIN Enrico

Bardiani-CSF

s.t.

104

GARDIAS Dexter

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

105

NALLY Joe

Great Britain

4:54

106

HOLMES Matthew

Madison Genesis

7:03

Final GC after stage 8:

1,135.3 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.942 km/hr

1

ALAPHILIPPE Julian

Quick-Step Floors

26hr 25min 58sec

2

POELS Wout

Sky

@ 17sec

3

ROGLIČ Primož

LottoNL-Jumbo

0:33

4

BEVIN Patrick

BMC

0:42

5

JUNGELS Bob

Quick-Step Floors

0:51

6

SÜTTERLIN Jasha

Movistar

0:58

7

POWLESS Neilson

LottoNL-Jumbo

1:10

8

STRAKHOV Dmitry

Katusha-Alpecin

1:21

9

HAMILTON Chris

Team Sunweb

1:28

10

EENKHOORN Pascal

LottoNL-Jumbo

1:34

11

MEYER Cameron

Mitchelton-Scott

1:49

12

DAVIES Scott

Dimension Data

1:54

13

VAN EMDEN Jos

LottoNL-Jumbo

1:58

14

CARTHY Hugh

EF Education First-Drapac

2:00

15

HIVERT Jonathan

Direct Energie

2:09

16

HAYTER Ethan

Great Britain

2:17

17

PIDCOCK Thomas

Team Wiggins

2:24

18

SMITH Dion

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

2:27

19

MEURISSE Xandro

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

20

STEDMAN Maximilian

Canyon Eisberg

2:42

21

VAN GARDEREN Tejay

BMC

3:14

22

ROJAS José Joaquín

Movistar

3:33

23

FERNÁNDEZ Rubén

Movistar

3:50

24

SEPÚLVEDA Eduardo

Movistar

4:33

25

BRADBURY Edmund

JLT Condor

5:13

26

LIEPIŅŠ Emīls

One Pro Cycling

5:48

27

THWAITES Scott

Dimension Data

5:52

28

POWER Robert

Mitchelton-Scott

6:02

29

TONELLI Alessandro

Bardiani-CSF

6:46

30

SWIFT Connor

Madison Genesis

6:52

31

ROELANDTS Jürgen

BMC

7:02

32

NIEVE Mikel

Mitchelton-Scott

7:25

33

CHAVANEL Sylvain

Direct Energie

7:38

34

DE BUYST Jasper

Lotto-Soudal

7:53

35

DOWSETT Alex

Katusha-Alpecin

8:05

36

THOMAS Geraint

Sky

9:12

37

WILLIAMS Stephen

Great Britain

9:42

38

OURSELIN Paul

Direct Energie

9:44

39

SHAW James

Lotto-Soudal

9:49

40

KIRYIENKA Vasil

Sky

10:00

41

BARBERO Carlos

Movistar

10:26

42

WÜRTZ SCHMIDT Mads

Katusha-Alpecin

10:30

43

DE LA PARTE Víctor

Movistar

10:50

44

CULLAIGH Gabriel

Team Wiggins

11:15

45

THOMSON Jay

Dimension Data

s.t.

46

VENTER Jaco

Dimension Data

s.t.

47

PASQUALON Andrea

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

11:18

48

STANNARD Ian

Sky

11:34

49

BRESCHEL Matti

EF Education First-Drapac

11:58

50

SCHACHMANN Maximilian

Quick-Step Floors

12:04

51

DRUCKER Jempy

BMC

12:30

52

EEKHOFF Nils

Team Sunweb

12:32

53

CHRISTENSEN Ryan

Canyon Eisberg

13:01

54

RICHEZE Maximiliano

Quick-Step Floors

13:02

55

VERVAEKE Louis

Team Sunweb

13:57

56

WYNANTS Maarten

LottoNL-Jumbo

14:12

57

SCOTSON Miles

BMC

14:28

58

SWIFT Ben

Great Britain

14:58

59

EWAN Caleb

Mitchelton-Scott

15:01

60

ORAM James

One Pro Cycling

15:10

61

WIŚNIOWSKI Łukasz

Sky

15:41

62

WRIGHT Alfred

Great Britain

16:58

63

HOFSTEDE Lennard

Team Sunweb

17:06

64

CARDIS Romain

Direct Energie

18:19

65

GREIPEL André

Lotto-Soudal

18:24

66

KEUKELEIRE Jens

Lotto-Soudal

19:17

67

BARBIN Enrico

Bardiani-CSF

19:40

68

DLAMINI Nic

Dimension Data

20:14

69

GAVIRIA Fernando

Quick-Step Floors

20:41

70

SLATER Alistair

JLT Condor

20:51

71

ZABEL Rick

Katusha-Alpecin

21:15

72

DOWNEY Mark

Team Wiggins

21:37

73

ANTONINI Simone

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

22:01

74

SIMION Paolo

Bardiani-CSF

22:02

75

MCCORMICK Hayden

One Pro Cycling

22:36

76

TULIK Angelo

Direct Energie

23:25

77

PHINNEY Taylor

EF Education First-Drapac

23:34

78

WILLIAMS Peter

One Pro Cycling

23:42

79

HOFLAND Moreno

Lotto-Soudal

23:52

80

FOUCHE James

Team Wiggins

23:56

81

RENSHAW Mark

Dimension Data

26:15

82

ROWSELL Erick

Madison Genesis

26:34

83

HANDLEY Richard

Madison Genesis

27:20

84

HOLMES Matthew

Madison Genesis

27:59

85

FROOME Chris

Sky

28:25

86

BOSTOCK Matthew

Great Britain

28:51

87

BAYLIS Tom

One Pro Cycling

29:00

88

POLITT Nils

Katusha-Alpecin

29:23

89

BOUWMAN Koen

LottoNL-Jumbo

30:08

90

MARTIN Tony

Katusha-Alpecin

30:10

91

PICHOT Alexandre

Direct Energie

30:23

92

MOSES Thomas

JLT Condor

30:54

93

KLUGE Roger

Mitchelton-Scott

33:07

94

MCEVOY Jonathan

Madison Genesis

35:14

95

GUARDINI Andrea

Bardiani-CSF

36:15

96

TOWNSEND Rory

Canyon Eisberg

37:40

97

MOULD Jon

JLT Condor

38:02

98

STEWART Thomas

JLT Condor

39:15

99

GARDIAS Dexter

Canyon Eisberg

40:35

100

LATHAM Christopher

One Pro Cycling

41:30

101

KEISSE Iljo

Quick-Step Floors

43:14

102

PYM George

Madison Genesis

44:33

103

ALBANESE Vincenzo

Bardiani-CSF

45:51

104

BAUHAUS Phil

Team Sunweb

46:14

105

NALLY Joe

Great Britain

46:25

106

PATON Alex

Canyon Eisberg

52:46

Saturday, September 8: Stage 7, West Bridgford - Mansfield, 215.6 km

Ian Stannard wins stage seven.

The race: Here's the organizer's race summary.

After team-mate Wout Poels won atop Whinlatter on Friday, Team Sky’s Ian Stannard produced a brilliant individual performance to solo to victory in Mansfield during the 2018 OVO Energy Tour of Britain’s penultimate and longest stage in Nottinghamshire on Saturday.

Stannard instigated the day’s five-man breakaway, which went clear after the first SKODA King of the Mountains climb at Keyworth – located 20 kilometres after the race’s longest stage departed from West Bridgford – before eventually going solo with 16 kilometres remaining.

The 31-year-old Briton last won a stage of the race in 2016, when he also soloed to glory in Tatton Park, Knutsford. This time he was time chased hard by Team KATUSHA ALPECIN’s Nils Politt, who kept him at arm’s length until the final run in to the line.

Quick-Step Floors rider Julian Alaphilippe finished safely within the peloton to all-but claim the overall title with a largely ceremonial stage in London awaiting the peloton on Sunday.

“It was always pretty close with Pollit, seven or eight seconds or so, and it was getting tough,” said Stannard, who eventually won by 59 seconds. “Luckily there were a few little kicks towards the end so I managed to put a bit more into the gap. When I got into the break today I was pretty confident – I looked at the other guys, how they were riding all day and I knew that I had the edge. “

Undeterred by the 215.6km that comprised this year’s Nottinghamshire stage, on a route that took in all seven districts and boroughs in the county, the attacks went from the gun once again – including four from Politt in the opening 10 kilometres.

The day’s winning break proved to be fruitful for more than just Stannard, as Canyon Eisberg’s Alex Paton was able to claim maximum points at all three Eisberg Sprints – located in Retford, Worksop and Bilsthorpe – to take over the lead in that classification from Madison Genesis rider Matt Holmes. Paton has a four-point gap over Holmes with a maximum of nine up for grabs in London on Sunday.

Furthermore, with Stannard, Politt, Holmes, fellow Briton Mark McNally (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Bardiani-CSF’s Giovanni Carboni not figuring in the SKODA King of the Mountains competition, all Team Dimension Data’s Nic Dlamini needs to do now to win that jersey in complete the race in the capital on Sunday.

The break gained a maximum advantage of nearly nine minutes, a gap that reduced to around four as the race passed through Newstead Abbey with 40 kilometres remaining. Yet the decision of Alaphilippe’s Quick-Step Floors team to end the chase effectively decided the outcome of the stage.

Paton dropped back after the final Eisberg Sprint to conserve energy, and McNally began to struggle as Stannard launched his first big attack approaching Ashfield. Politt managed to follow this acceleration, and several others, before the Briton broke the German rider’s resistance in Kirkby in Ashfield. The Team Sky rider then stayed clear until the finish, notably increasing his gap in the final kilometres from 10 seconds to nearly a minute, to claim a memorable victory.

Behind, ONE Pro Cycling’s Emils Liepins won the bunch sprint for fifth, just over four minutes after Stannard crossed the line on Chesterfield Road South. Kiwi Patrick Bevin (BMC Racing) placed sixth to mean he’s now uncatchable in the Wahoo Points Jersey.

Sunday’s eighth and final stage is a 77-kilometre leg around an iconic circuit in Central London. Beginning at 15:30, the peloton will pass Regent Street St James, Piccadilly, Haymarket, Strand and Whitehall 14 times before a likely bunch sprint finish.

Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe moved into the OVO Energy Tour of Britain race lead with two stages remaining after finishing second behind Team Sky’s Wout Poels at Whinlatter on Friday afternoon.

The Quick-Step Floors rider, making his debut in the race, produced an aggressive display on the climb up to the Forestry Commission’s Visitor Centre in Cumbria to distance overnight leader Primoz Roglic (Team LottoNL-Jumbo) and edge closer to the overall victory.

Dutchman Poels, who had earlier been distanced on the lower slopes of the climb after Alaphilippe’s team-mate Bob Jungels sacrificed his GC chances by kick-starting a flurry of attacks, has now the OVO Energy Tour of Britain’s last three hill-top finishes (Hartside Pass in 2015 and Haytor two years ago).

“I’m really happy – the team did a really good job – G [Geraint Thomas], Ian Stannard – so it’s really nice that I could finish it off,” said Poels, who moves into second overall, 17 seconds behind Alaphilippe.

However, he admitted winning the race overall would be a struggle: “Second is really nice, I’m quite happy with it. It’s going to be a hard fight – no more uphill finishes, everything is flat. But we’ll keep on trying.”

New OVO Energy Green Jersey leader Alaphilppe, who won Tuesday’s third stage in Bristol and is the race’s fifth leader in six days, said: “I’m really proud of my team today, they did an incredible performance. Everybody was riding for me and protecting me. Bob [Jungels] really fought for me. I was only riding to take the jersey; in the fight for the stage victory Wout was fresher than me so I’m not disappointed [to miss out].”

The race’s second day in Cumbria, presented by BAE Systems, was dramatic from the off as crosswinds split the peloton on the road from the stage start in Barrow-in-Furness. Although the majority of GC contenders made it into the front group, Stage Two winner Cameron Meyer (Mitchelton-SCOTT) and SKODA King of the Mountains leader Nic Dlamini (Team Dimension Data) were among those caught out on the wrong side of the split before the groups rejoined after the day’s first Eisberg Sprint at Ulverston.

Quick-Step Floors’ desire to dislodge Roglic from the OVO Energy Green Jersey was evident here, as Alaphilippe and Jungels were first across the line at the prime, cutting their overnight deficits to the Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider to three and 14 seconds respectively.

A four-man breakaway, including former world time trial champions Tony Martin (Team KATUSHA ALPECIN) and Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky), went clear shortly after and were only caught at the start of the second ascent of Whinlatter with 3.5 kilometres remaining.

British champion Connor Swift was also among the quartet (he claimed the day’s bonus MacRebur Prime in Broughton Moor) as British team Madison Genesis went on the offensive. His team-mate Matt Holmes, the current Eisberg Sprints competition leader, tried to dislodge Dlamini from the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey but was followed across the line at the first four summits by the South African.

As soon as the peloton reeled in the quartet on the lower slopes of Whinlatter, Jungels immediately went on the offensive, producing an acceleration that only a handful of riders could follow.

Briton Hugh Carthy (Team EF Education First – Drapac) was among them and successive attacks from him and Alaphilippe resulted in Roglic being dramatically distanced.

While the race leader was going backwards, Poels managed to bridge across to the two up front before sprinting to take the win. Alaphilippe crossed the line two seconds down, with Carthy securing third.

Roglic finished almost half a minute behind the stage winner, but sits third overall behind Alaphilippe and Poels.

Former race leader Patrick Bevin (BMC Racing) continues to lead the Wahoo Points Jersey, while Dlamini is close to securing the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey, with only a maximum of nine points up for grabs. Holmes will wear the Eisberg Sprints Jersey during Stage Seven on Saturday.

The penultimate stage of the race takes the riders to Nottinghamshire for the longest leg of the 2018 edition, a 215.6-kilometre run from West Bridgford to Mansfield, before the OVO Energy Tour of Britain culminates with a London circuit race on Sunday afternoon.

Slovenian Primoz Roglic moved into the lead of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain after Team LottoNL-Jumbo took victory in the race’s first-ever team time trial stage, held between Cockermouth and Whinlatter in Cumbria.

The Dutch squad completed the 14-kilometre course, which included the climb of Whinlatter from its western approach, in 19’37”, 16 seconds faster than nearest challengers Quick-Step Floors.

Roglic – who placed fourth in this year’s Tour de France – started the day just 16 seconds behind former race leader Patrick Bevin, whose BMC Racing Team could only place fifth on the stage.

Roglic said: “We are all really happy – it’s a really special moment. Getting the jersey was not really a big objective – we just wanted to do a nice team time trial. But as we managed to take it, we will try and defend the jersey in the next days.

“There was quite a lot of communication out on the road because it was a really hard climb. I think all the guys did a really good job, each and every one of them. It’s a really nice win.”

Roglic is seeking to become the second Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider in as many years to win the OVO Energy Tour of Britain, after team-mate Lars Boom claimed the overall title in 2017.

With no primes along the route, André Griepel (Lotto Soudal), Nic Dlamini (Team Dimension Data) and Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis) retain their leads in the Wahoo Points, SKODA King of the Mountains and Eisberg Sprints competitions respectively.

Welshman Scott Davies has overtaken Hugh Carthy (Team EF Education First-Drapac) atop the Adnams Best British Rider classification after Team Dimension Data beat the American-registered team by 22 seconds.

Tomorrow’s stage will likely decide this year’s champion; the peloton will race 168.3 kilometres from Barrow-in-Furness to another hill-top finish at Whinlatter, tackling the climb twice from its harder eastern side.

Lotto Soudal’s André Greipel won his second stage of the 2018 OVO Energy Tour of Britain on Wednesday, claiming victory in Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire’s first-ever stage of the modern race.

The German rider easily saw off Sacha Modolo (Team EF Education First – Drapac p/b Cannondale) and OVO Energy Green Jersey wearer Patrick Bevin, who extended his lead at the top of the standings by virtue of his four-second time bonus on the line.

Greipel’s win, coming at the end of a 183.5-kilometre stage that started in Nuneaton, was his seventh in race history. “The guys worked really well to keep me upfront, especially Jasper de Buyst again,” said Greipel. “My aim was to go full gas from the final corner, even though it was 300m from line – I knew that I could make it. I’m happy with another win.

“I think everybody was a bit tired from the last three days; all the main teams expected a bunch sprint and so we saved energy for the team time trial tomorrow. Even though it’s not easy to control the breakaway, together with Quick-Step Floors and Mitchelton-SCOTT we managed to make that possible today.

“When it comes down to sprints, we have a good team here, with Moreno Hofland and Jens Keukeleire, too, who worked really hard with [Quick-Step Floors’] Iljo Keisse today. I’ve got really experienced guys to set me up.”

From the start in the centre of Nuneaton to the finish on Royal Leamington Spa’s Newbold Terrace, huge crowds lined the route of the stage, with thousands of school children celebrating the start of term by watching the world’s best race past.

A six-rider break was the main feature of the stage, with Madison Genesis’ Matt Holmes taking out all three Eisberg Sprints to move into the red jersey, while Nicholas Dlamini (Team Dimension Data) retook the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey from his team-mate Scott Davies.

The final remnants of the group were reeled in on the fast approach to Royal Leamington Spa to set up a thrilling sprint finish, with Greipel taking a comfortable victory ahead of Modolo, and overall contender Bevin.

Speaking afterwards, Bevin said: “It was an interesting bunch finish, having a corner with 350m to go. It was always going to be a bit dicey, so I made the call before the stage to come out of there first. I led the sprint out from there; I wasn’t going to win it from there, but I came third and picked up bonus seconds.

“We had a plan this morning to ensure there were no surprises today. The break was quite tough to pull back; if the finish was a bit different it would have been hard to pull them back but the big, wide, windy roads did for them. My team-mates looked after me really well and we were rewarded with a bit more time. At the end of the day one team-mate did the majority of work today, so that won’t have a huge effect on tomorrow [in the Stage Five team time trial].|”

Bevin also takes over the Wahoo Points Jersey with a 10-point advantage over Greipel, and his BMC Racing Team will start the Stage Five team time trial in Cumbria on Thursday last of the 20 teams at 14:02.

Complete results:

183.5 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.012 km/hr

1

GREIPEL André

Lotto-Soudal

4hr 22min 4sec

2

MODOLO Sacha

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

3

BEVIN Patrick

BMC

s.t.

4

ZABEL Rick

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

5

BARBERO CUESTA Carlos

Movistar

s.t.

6

LIEPINS Emils

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

7

CARDIS Romain

Direct Energie

s.t.

8

MCLAY Daniel

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

9

TENNANT Andrew

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

10

CULLAIGH Gabriel

Team Wiggins

s.t.

11

ALBANESE Vincenzo

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

12

GAVIRIA Fernando

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

13

PHINNEY Taylor

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

14

ROJAS José

Movistar

s.t.

15

RENSHAW Mark

Dimension Data

s.t.

16

PASQUALON Andrea

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

17

DOWNEY Mark

Team Wiggins

s.t.

18

SUTTERLIN Jasha

Movistar

s.t.

19

POELS Wout

Sky

s.t.

20

ROELANDTS Jurgen

BMC

s.t.

21

SWIFT Connor

Madison Genesis

s.t.

22

SLATER Alistair

JLT Condor

s.t.

23

SCHMIDT Mads Würtz

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

24

CHRISTENSEN Ryan

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

25

STEDMAN Maximilian

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

26

EENKHOORN Pascal

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

27

SIMION Paolo

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

28

GUARDINI Andrea

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

29

SMITH Dion

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

30

EWAN Caleb

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

31

JUNGELS Bob

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

32

RICHEZE Ariel Maximiliano

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

33

BRADBURY Edmund

JLT Condor

s.t.

34

DRUCKER Jean-Pierre

BMC

s.t.

35

WILLIAMS Peter

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

36

SHAW James

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

37

TOWNSEND Rory

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

38

ALAPHILIPPE Julian

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

39

POWLESS Neilson

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

40

CARBONI Giovanni

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

41

DAVIES Scott

Dimension Data

s.t.

42

MEURISSE Xandro

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

43

STRAKHOV Dmitrii

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

44

ANTONINI Simone

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

45

KÜNG Stefan

BMC

s.t.

46

HAMILTON Christopher

Team Sunweb

s.t.

47

VAN EMDEN Jos

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

48

BAYLIS Thomas

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

49

SWIFT Ben

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

50

*PIDCOCK Thomas

Team Wiggins

s.t.

51

CARTHY Hugh

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

52

PICHOT Alexandre

Direct Energie

s.t.

53

FERNANDEZ Ruben

Movistar

s.t.

54

HOLMES Matthew

Madison Genesis

s.t.

55

MEYER Cameron

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

56

PYM George

Madison Genesis

s.t.

57

DE BUYST Jasper

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

58

DOWSETT Alex

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

59

ROGLIC Primoz

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

60

MOULD Jonathan

JLT Condor

s.t.

61

SEPULVEDA Eduardo

Movistar

s.t.

62

CHAVANEL Sylvain

Direct Energie

s.t.

63

NIEVE ITURRALDE Mikel

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

64

TONELLI Alessandro

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

65

VERVAEKE Louis

Team Sunweb

s.t.

66

THOMSON Jay Robert

Dimension Data

s.t.

67

POWER Rob

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

68

TEGGART Matthew

Team Wiggins

s.t.

69

DLAMINI Nicholas

Dimension Data

s.t.

70

*WRIGHT Fred

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

71

THWAITES Scott

Dimension Data

s.t.

72

POLITT Nils

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

73

*NALLY Joseph

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

74

LATHAM Christopher

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

75

VENTER Jaco

Dimension Data

s.t.

76

VAN GARDEREN Tejay

BMC

s.t.

77

HIVERT Jonathan

Direct Energie

s.t.

78

SCOTSON Miles

BMC

s.t.

79

WISNIOWSKI Lukasz

Sky

s.t.

80

KIRYIENKA Vasil

Sky

s.t.

81

THOMAS Geraint

Sky

s.t.

82

DE LA PARTE Victor

Movistar

s.t.

83

ORAM James

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

84

SCHACHMANN Maximilian

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

85

WILLIAMS Stephen

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

86

HANDLEY Richard

Madison Genesis

s.t.

87

WYNANTS Maarten

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

88

HOFSTEDE Lennard

Team Sunweb

s.t.

89

OURSELIN Paul

Direct Energie

s.t.

90

STEWART Thomas

JLT Condor

s.t.

91

BRESCHEL Matti

EF Education First-Drapac

22

92

BOSTOCK Matthew

Great Britain-GBR

32

93

TULIK Angelo

Direct Energie

s.t.

94

MCCORMICK Hayden

One Pro Cycling

38

95

STANNARD Ian

Sky

44

96

FROOME Christopher

Sky

s.t.

97

FOUCHÉ James

Team Wiggins

s.t.

98

GARDIAS Dexter

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

99

KLUGE Roger

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

100

MCNALLY Mark

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

101

MARTIN Tony

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

102

BAUHAUS Phil

Team Sunweb

s.t.

103

PATON Alex

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

104

ROWSELL Erick

Madison Genesis

57

105

BARBIN Enrico

Bardiani CSF

1:03

106

MCEVOY Jonathan

Madison Genesis

1:07

107

HOFLAND Moreno

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

108

KEUKELEIRE Jens

Lotto-Soudal

1:30

109

FERNANDES José

EF Education First-Drapac

1:33

110

EEKHOFF Nils

Team Sunweb

0

111

HAYTER Ethan

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

112

MOSES Thomas

JLT Condor

3:14

113

BRIGGS Graham

JLT Condor

s.t.

114

KEISSE Iljo

Quick Step Floors

3:50

115

BOUWMAN Koen

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

GC after stage 4:

660.4 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.816 km/hr

1

BEVIN Patrick

BMC

15hr 25min 11sec

2

MEYER Cameron

Mitchelton-Scott

@ 4sec

3

ALAPHILIPPE Julian

Quick Step Floors

6

4

SUTTERLIN Jasha

Movistar

16

5

POELS Wout

Sky

s.t.

6

HAMILTON Christopher

Team Sunweb

s.t.

7

JUNGELS Bob

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

8

ROGLIC Primoz

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

9

CARTHY Hugh

EF Education First-Drapac

23

10

DAVIES Scott

Dimension Data

26

11

SCHMIDT Mads Würtz

Katusha-Alpecin

50

12

EENKHOORN Pascal

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

13

STRAKHOV Dmitrii

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

14

SMITH Dion

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

53

15

ROJAS José

Movistar

s.t.

16

MEURISSE Xandro

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

17

VAN EMDEN Jos

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

18

STEDMAN Maximilian

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

19

DE BUYST Jasper

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

20

POWLESS Neilson

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

21

*PIDCOCK Thomas

Team Wiggins

s.t.

22

HAYTER Ethan

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

23

BRADBURY Edmund

JLT Condor

s.t.

24

HIVERT Jonathan

Direct Energie

s.t.

25

TONELLI Alessandro

Bardiani CSF

55

26

VAN GARDEREN Tejay

BMC

1:12

27

SHAW James

Lotto-Soudal

1:28

28

THWAITES Scott

Dimension Data

1:44

29

SWIFT Connor

Madison Genesis

1:46

30

FERNANDEZ Ruben

Movistar

2:53

31

SCHACHMANN Maximilian

Quick Step Floors

2:59

32

WILLIAMS Stephen

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

33

MODOLO Sacha

EF Education First-Drapac

3:30

34

LIEPINS Emils

One Pro Cycling

3:32

35

ROELANDTS Jurgen

BMC

3:36

36

SEPULVEDA Eduardo

Movistar

s.t.

37

NIEVE ITURRALDE Mikel

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

38

BARBERO CUESTA Carlos

Movistar

3:42

39

CHAVANEL Sylvain

Direct Energie

s.t.

40

POWER Rob

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

41

HOLMES Matthew

Madison Genesis

3:43

42

KIRYIENKA Vasil

Sky

3:52

43

ORAM James

One Pro Cycling

4:16

44

RICHEZE Ariel Maximiliano

Quick Step Floors

4:27

45

OURSELIN Paul

Direct Energie

s.t.

46

WYNANTS Maarten

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

47

CHRISTENSEN Ryan

Canyon Eisberg

4:38

48

CULLAIGH Gabriel

Team Wiggins

4:59

49

PASQUALON Andrea

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

50

DOWSETT Alex

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

51

KÜNG Stefan

BMC

s.t.

52

DRUCKER Jean-Pierre

BMC

s.t.

53

THOMAS Geraint

Sky

s.t.

54

MCCORMICK Hayden

One Pro Cycling

5:03

55

BRESCHEL Matti

EF Education First-Drapac

5:21

56

BARBIN Enrico

Bardiani CSF

5:30

57

GAVIRIA Fernando

Quick Step Floors

6:31

58

EWAN Caleb

Mitchelton-Scott

6:34

59

THOMSON Jay Robert

Dimension Data

6:35

60

CARBONI Giovanni

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

61

DE LA PARTE Victor

Movistar

s.t.

62

EEKHOFF Nils

Team Sunweb

s.t.

63

SCOTSON Miles

BMC

s.t.

64

VENTER Jaco

Dimension Data

s.t.

65

VERVAEKE Louis

Team Sunweb

7:31

66

MCNALLY Mark

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

8:47

67

WISNIOWSKI Lukasz

Sky

8:54

68

SWIFT Ben

Great Britain-GBR

9:12

69

*WRIGHT Fred

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

70

HOFSTEDE Lennard

Team Sunweb

s.t.

71

CARDIS Romain

Direct Energie

9:39

72

STANNARD Ian

Sky

10:01

73

DLAMINI Nicholas

Dimension Data

10:30

74

DOWNEY Mark

Team Wiggins

11:32

75

GREIPEL André

Lotto-Soudal

11:56

76

SLATER Alistair

JLT Condor

12:14

77

ZABEL Rick

Katusha-Alpecin

12:16

78

PHINNEY Taylor

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

79

KEUKELEIRE Jens

Lotto-Soudal

13:44

80

FOUCHÉ James

Team Wiggins

13:51

81

HANDLEY Richard

Madison Genesis

13:57

82

ROWSELL Erick

Madison Genesis

14:54

83

TEGGART Matthew

Team Wiggins

14:58

84

SIMION Paolo

Bardiani CSF

15:07

85

ANTONINI Simone

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

86

HOFLAND Moreno

Lotto-Soudal

16:14

87

BOUWMAN Koen

LottoNL-Jumbo

16:57

88

BOSTOCK Matthew

Great Britain-GBR

17:28

89

GUARDINI Andrea

Bardiani CSF

17:33

90

BAYLIS Thomas

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

91

MOULD Jonathan

JLT Condor

17:41

92

RENSHAW Mark

Dimension Data

17:44

93

MCLAY Daniel

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

94

TENNANT Andrew

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

95

*NALLY Joseph

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

96

STEWART Thomas

JLT Condor

s.t.

97

TULIK Angelo

Direct Energie

18:14

98

WILLIAMS Peter

One Pro Cycling

18:22

99

FROOME Christopher

Sky

18:28

100

MARTIN Tony

Katusha-Alpecin

19:55

101

PICHOT Alexandre

Direct Energie

20:10

102

PYM George

Madison Genesis

s.t.

103

BAUHAUS Phil

Team Sunweb

20:54

104

KLUGE Roger

Mitchelton-Scott

21:16

105

LATHAM Christopher

One Pro Cycling

21:19

106

FERNANDES José

EF Education First-Drapac

21:42

107

PATON Alex

Canyon Eisberg

22:19

108

GARDIAS Dexter

Canyon Eisberg

22:23

109

TOWNSEND Rory

Canyon Eisberg

22:27

110

MOSES Thomas

JLT Condor

23:08

111

MCEVOY Jonathan

Madison Genesis

23:38

112

KEISSE Iljo

Quick Step Floors

28:16

113

BRIGGS Graham

JLT Condor

28:31

114

POLITT Nils

Katusha-Alpecin

29:42

115

ALBANESE Vincenzo

Bardiani CSF

33:55

Tuesday, September 4: Stage 3, Bristol - Bristol, 127.2 km

Julian Alaphilippe wins stage three.

The race: Here's the organizer's stage summary.

Quick-Step Floors’ Julian Alaphilippe issued a warning shot to his rivals by sprinting to victory at the end of a breathless third stage of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain in Bristol on Tuesday. The Frenchman, who won the King of the Mountains prize at this summer’s Tour de France, outsprinted Patrick Bevin (BMC Racing) and ONE Pro Cycling’s Emils Liepins to win a reduced bunch sprint on Ladies Mile, Clifton Down.

Kiwi Bevin moves into the OVO Energy Green Jersey, level on time with Stage Two winner Cameron Meyer (Mitchelton-SCOTT), with Alaphilippe just two seconds in arrears. “I’m happy to win, especially today as it’s my first race after a good break,” said Alaphilippe. “My team did a really good job today – Bob [Jungels] and I have tried since the start of the Tour to win, so I’m happy to take the victory today. In the end I was in a really good position – Bob did a really good job and voila!

“This is my first time in the race, and I’m really happy to be part of this race. I’m surprised to be active in the race, especially in the final kilometres – maybe it’s because I’m fresh. I really like the parcours here.”

The Bristol Stage combined spectacular man-made wonders – a double crossing of Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge – with the local area’s best natural features as the race wound its way through Cheddar Gorge and across the Mendip Hills.

An energetic start to proceedings had seen a break struggle to stick, and when it eventually did it contained a former winner in Bristol – Tony Martin (Team KATUSHA ALEPCIN) – as well as Frenchman Angelo Tulik (Direct Energie) and British pairing Ben Swift (Great Britain) and Jon Mould (JLT Condor).

Their advantage never went far above the minute margin, and their hopes were finally extinguished on the fast run to the day’s final SKODA King of the Mountains climb of Providence Lane on the outskirts of Bristol.

An initial attack from Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) sparked off a charge up the steep slopes, with British youngster Tom Pidcock (Team WIGGINS) leading the much-reduced peloton over the top. BMC Racing then hit the front, leading the charge up the unclassified Rownham Hill climb to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, with Bevin’s overall challenge at the forefront of their minds.

Coming onto the long, 900-metre finish straight Quick-Step Floors’ Bob Jungels took over from BMC, lifting the pace and setting up perfectly for Alaphilippe, who headed home Bevin and the fast-finishing Emils Liepins, with Great Britain youngster Ethan Hayter a highly creditable fourth.

Speaking after the stage, Bevin said: “It was hard all day – I’m not sure if the TV pictures did it justice, but the pace never really came off. It was a classic Tour of Britain day. Every kilometre today was tough – the guys did a great job, we got it right over the final climb, I had team-mates around me until the end. The stage win would have been really nice, but we’re still in the hunt for the overall.

“It was frantic. The first big break that went worried too many teams – Sky and Bardiani-CSF chased that down hard. We had about three or four kilometres where it was relaxed, and then we went back to race mode!”

Looking ahead to subsequent stages, Bevin identified the upcoming Stage Five team time trial in Cumbria as key to success in the race. “The aim of the team was to keep guys up there on GC until the team time trial; you can’t get better than leading the race. If we can hold it tomorrow, we’ll see how things shake out.

“I always love coming to Britain to race. The organisational put on a really great race – I look forward to coming here every year.”

Alaphilippe also took over the Wahoo Points Jersey following Stage Three, while the Eisberg Sprints and SKODA King of the Mountains jerseys remain with Matthew Teggart (Team WIGGINS) and Scott Davies (Team Dimension Data) respectively.

Commonwealth Games time trial champion Cameron Meyer won the second stage of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain today, surviving to the finish line in Barnstaple after spending the whole day in the breakaway.

The breakaway group of five riders gradually whittled down over the climbs coming into the final, leaving just Meyer and Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF) to battle it out for the victory. Meyer used his experience and turn of speed in the closing metres to hold off a chasing group by a couple of seconds and sprint to the stage win.

The start of the second 174km stage from Cranbrook saw a battle to get into the day's initial breakaway with Meyer jumping into the right move which successfully established in the first 20km. The group quickly open up a solid lead with the peloton happy to let them go. Working well together over the undulating terrain, the lead continued to increase, reaching a maximum advantage of over six and a half minutes as they entered the final 100km.

With 25km remaining the advantage was sliced down due to a hard chase behind and the leaders hovered just over one minute ahead. As they started to climb the category one Challacombe Hill, a 1.3km ascent with gradients reaching 22 percent, the breakaway reduced to just three riders and the peloton behind also significantly shattered.

Tonelli and Meyer continued to work hard to keep ahead of the chasers as their other breakaway companion Scott Davies (Dimension-Data) finally dropped off the fierce pace.

After the climb, a chasing group formed and with some strong and dangerous riders present it was touch and go whether Meyer and Tonelli could hold on to the finish line as they hovered just 10seconds ahead as they passed the flamme rouge. In the final few hundred metres, Meyer, a track specialist, launched from the wheel of Tonelli with a rapid turn of speed and to the stage win.

Meyer now heads into tomorrow’s third stage in second place overall but on the same time as the new leader Tonelli and as the leader of the points classification.

Cameron Meyer
“It was tough conditions and in the end it was a great bike race to finish like that, to come down to the last kilometre and throw my hands in the air is really cool. It is a bit of a shock and a bit of a surprise to take the win today.

"We will see what the next days bring. We have Caleb Ewan who was second yesterday and is in good form sprinting so for the sprint stages we will obviously look to him and we will see what I can do for the rest of the tour.”

Complete results:

174.9 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.191 km/hr

1

MEYER Cameron

Mitchelton-Scott

4hr 14min 46sec

2

TONELLI Alessandro

Bardiani CSF

@ 1sec

3

BEVIN Patrick

BMC

@ 2sec

4

ALAPHILIPPE Julian

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

5

SUTTERLIN Jasha

Movistar

s.t.

6

ROGLIC Primoz

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

7

POELS Wout

Sky

s.t.

8

HAMILTON Christopher

Team Sunweb

s.t.

9

JUNGELS Bob

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

10

CARTHY Hugh

EF Education First-Drapac

9

11

DAVIES Scott

Dimension Data

14

12

SCHMIDT Mads Würtz

Katusha-Alpecin

39

13

SMITH Dion

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

14

MEURISSE Xandro

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

15

SWIFT Connor

Madison Genesis

s.t.

16

HAYTER Ethan

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

17

VAN EMDEN Jos

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

18

POWLESS Neilson

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

19

THWAITES Scott

Dimension Data

s.t.

20

ROJAS José

Movistar

s.t.

21

*PIDCOCK Thomas

Team Wiggins

s.t.

22

STEDMAN Maximilian

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

23

EENKHOORN Pascal

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

24

BRADBURY Edmund

JLT Condor

s.t.

25

DE BUYST Jasper

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

26

WILLIAMS Stephen

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

27

FERNANDEZ Ruben

Movistar

s.t.

28

SCHACHMANN Maximilian

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

29

STRAKHOV Dmitrii

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

30

SHAW James

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

31

KIRYIENKA Vasil

Sky

s.t.

32

HOLMES Matthew

Madison Genesis

s.t.

33

VAN GARDEREN Tejay

BMC

s.t.

34

HIVERT Jonathan

Direct Energie

s.t.

35

THOMSON Jay Robert

Dimension Data

3:22

36

PASQUALON Andrea

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

37

VERVAEKE Louis

Team Sunweb

s.t.

38

CHRISTENSEN Ryan

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

39

EEKHOFF Nils

Team Sunweb

s.t.

40

LIEPINS Emils

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

41

FOUCHÉ James

Team Wiggins

s.t.

42

OURSELIN Paul

Direct Energie

s.t.

43

CULLAIGH Gabriel

Team Wiggins

s.t.

44

DLAMINI Nicholas

Dimension Data

s.t.

45

DE LA PARTE Victor

Movistar

s.t.

46

BARBERO CUESTA Carlos

Movistar

s.t.

47

KÜNG Stefan

BMC

s.t.

48

VENTER Jaco

Dimension Data

s.t.

49

SEPULVEDA Eduardo

Movistar

s.t.

50

WISNIOWSKI Lukasz

Sky

s.t.

51

GAVIRIA Fernando

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

52

MCCORMICK Hayden

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

53

SCOTSON Miles

BMC

s.t.

54

*WRIGHT Fred

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

55

ROELANDTS Jurgen

BMC

s.t.

56

DRUCKER Jean-Pierre

BMC

s.t.

57

BRESCHEL Matti

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

58

DOWSETT Alex

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

59

CARBONI Giovanni

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

60

THOMAS Geraint

Sky

s.t.

61

BARBIN Enrico

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

62

SWIFT Ben

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

63

STANNARD Ian

Sky

s.t.

64

RICHEZE Ariel Maximiliano

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

65

MODOLO Sacha

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

66

ORAM James

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

67

WYNANTS Maarten

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

68

HOFSTEDE Lennard

Team Sunweb

s.t.

69

CHAVANEL Sylvain

Direct Energie

s.t.

70

HANDLEY Richard

Madison Genesis

s.t.

71

ROWSELL Erick

Madison Genesis

s.t.

72

NIEVE ITURRALDE Mikel

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

73

POWER Rob

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

74

BOUWMAN Koen

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

75

ZABEL Rick

Katusha-Alpecin

6:26

76

BOSTOCK Matthew

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

77

MCNALLY Mark

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

78

PHINNEY Taylor

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

79

DOWNEY Mark

Team Wiggins

s.t.

80

EWAN Caleb

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

81

GREIPEL André

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

82

CARDIS Romain

Direct Energie

s.t.

83

WILLIAMS Peter

One Pro Cycling

11:14

84

RENSHAW Mark

Dimension Data

11:54

85

TEGGART Matthew

Team Wiggins

s.t.

86

GARDIAS Dexter

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

87

SLATER Alistair

JLT Condor

s.t.

88

PATON Alex

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

89

PYM George

Madison Genesis

s.t.

90

PICHOT Alexandre

Direct Energie

s.t.

91

FROOME Christopher

Sky

s.t.

92

*NALLY Joseph

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

93

BAYLIS Thomas

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

94

MCLAY Daniel

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

95

TULIK Angelo

Direct Energie

s.t.

96

FERNANDES José

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

97

HOFLAND Moreno

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

98

LATHAM Christopher

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

99

TENNANT Andrew

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

100

MOSES Thomas

JLT Condor

s.t.

101

BRIGGS Graham

JLT Condor

s.t.

102

HAMILTON Lucas

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

103

MCEVOY Jonathan

Madison Genesis

s.t.

104

BAUHAUS Phil

Team Sunweb

s.t.

105

KEUKELEIRE Jens

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

106

KLUGE Roger

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

107

SIMION Paolo

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

108

KEISSE Iljo

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

109

GUARDINI Andrea

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

110

ANTONINI Simone

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

111

MOULD Jonathan

JLT Condor

s.t.

112

TOWNSEND Rory

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

113

STEWART Thomas

JLT Condor

s.t.

114

MARTIN Tony

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

115

POLITT Nils

Katusha-Alpecin

28:05

116

ALBANESE Vincenzo

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

GC after Stage 2:

349.7 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 42.329 km/hr

1

TONELLI Alessandro

Bardiani CSF

8hr 15min 30sec

2

MEYER Cameron

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

3

BEVIN Patrick

BMC

@ 8sec

4

POELS Wout

Sky

@ 12sec

5

SUTTERLIN Jasha

Movistar

s.t.

6

HAMILTON Christopher

Team Sunweb

s.t.

7

ALAPHILIPPE Julian

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

8

JUNGELS Bob

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

9

ROGLIC Primoz

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

10

CARTHY Hugh

EF Education First-Drapac

19

11

DAVIES Scott

Dimension Data

22

12

HAYTER Ethan

Great Britain-GBR

49

13

THWAITES Scott

Dimension Data

s.t.

14

SMITH Dion

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

15

VAN EMDEN Jos

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

16

MEURISSE Xandro

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

17

ROJAS José

Movistar

s.t.

18

DE BUYST Jasper

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

19

EENKHOORN Pascal

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

20

POWLESS Neilson

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

21

*PIDCOCK Thomas

Team Wiggins

s.t.

22

FERNANDEZ Ruben

Movistar

s.t.

23

STEDMAN Maximilian

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

24

SCHMIDT Mads Würtz

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

25

HOLMES Matthew

Madison Genesis

s.t.

26

STRAKHOV Dmitrii

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

27

BRADBURY Edmund

JLT Condor

s.t.

28

VAN GARDEREN Tejay

BMC

s.t.

29

SCHACHMANN Maximilian

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

30

WILLIAMS Stephen

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

31

KIRYIENKA Vasil

Sky

s.t.

32

HIVERT Jonathan

Direct Energie

s.t.

33

SHAW James

Lotto-Soudal

1:14

34

SWIFT Connor

Madison Genesis

1:42

35

GAVIRIA Fernando

Quick Step Floors

3:28

36

PASQUALON Andrea

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

3:32

37

CULLAIGH Gabriel

Team Wiggins

s.t.

38

LIEPINS Emils

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

39

ROELANDTS Jurgen

BMC

s.t.

40

BARBERO CUESTA Carlos

Movistar

s.t.

41

THOMSON Jay Robert

Dimension Data

s.t.

42

MODOLO Sacha

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

43

SWIFT Ben

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

44

DOWSETT Alex

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

45

KÜNG Stefan

BMC

s.t.

46

CHRISTENSEN Ryan

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

47

EEKHOFF Nils

Team Sunweb

s.t.

48

BARBIN Enrico

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

49

BOUWMAN Koen

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

50

*WRIGHT Fred

Great Britain-GBR

s.t.

51

OURSELIN Paul

Direct Energie

s.t.

52

HOFSTEDE Lennard

Team Sunweb

s.t.

53

CHAVANEL Sylvain

Direct Energie

s.t.

54

DE LA PARTE Victor

Movistar

s.t.

55

BRESCHEL Matti

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

56

SEPULVEDA Eduardo

Movistar

s.t.

57

DRUCKER Jean-Pierre

BMC

s.t.

58

MCCORMICK Hayden

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

59

CARBONI Giovanni

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

60

SCOTSON Miles

BMC

s.t.

61

RICHEZE Ariel Maximiliano

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

62

THOMAS Geraint

Sky

s.t.

63

WYNANTS Maarten

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

64

VENTER Jaco

Dimension Data

s.t.

65

NIEVE ITURRALDE Mikel

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

66

ORAM James

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

67

POWER Rob

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

68

GREIPEL André

Lotto-Soudal

6:26

69

EWAN Caleb

Mitchelton-Scott

6:30

70

ZABEL Rick

Katusha-Alpecin

6:36

71

CARDIS Romain

Direct Energie

s.t.

72

PHINNEY Taylor

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

73

MCNALLY Mark

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

74

VERVAEKE Louis

Team Sunweb

7:27

75

FOUCHÉ James

Team Wiggins

s.t.

76

DLAMINI Nicholas

Dimension Data

s.t.

77

WISNIOWSKI Lukasz

Sky

s.t.

78

STANNARD Ian

Sky

s.t.

79

HANDLEY Richard

Madison Genesis

8:17

80

ROWSELL Erick

Madison Genesis

s.t.

81

BOSTOCK Matthew

Great Britain-GBR

11:16

82

DOWNEY Mark

Team Wiggins

11:22

83

TEGGART Matthew

Team Wiggins

11:55

84

*NALLY Joseph

Great Britain-GBR

12:04

85

RENSHAW Mark

Dimension Data

s.t.

86

SIMION Paolo

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

87

STEWART Thomas

JLT Condor

s.t.

88

MOULD Jonathan

JLT Condor

s.t.

89

FROOME Christopher

Sky

s.t.

90

MCLAY Daniel

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

91

TENNANT Andrew

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

92

SLATER Alistair

JLT Condor

s.t.

93

MARTIN Tony

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

94

TULIK Angelo

Direct Energie

s.t.

95

HOFLAND Moreno

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

96

KEUKELEIRE Jens

Lotto-Soudal

s.t.

97

ANTONINI Simone

Wanty-Groupe Gobert

s.t.

98

KLUGE Roger

Mitchelton-Scott

12:57

99

PYM George

Madison Genesis

14:30

100

PICHOT Alexandre

Direct Energie

s.t.

101

BAYLIS Thomas

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

102

LATHAM Christopher

One Pro Cycling

s.t.

103

BAUHAUS Phil

Team Sunweb

s.t.

104

GUARDINI Andrea

Bardiani CSF

s.t.

105

WILLIAMS Peter

One Pro Cycling

15:19

106

MOSES Thomas

JLT Condor

15:55

107

GARDIAS Dexter

Canyon Eisberg

15:59

108

PATON Alex

Canyon Eisberg

s.t.

109

TOWNSEND Rory

Canyon Eisberg

16:47

110

HAMILTON Lucas

Mitchelton-Scott

16:51

111

MCEVOY Jonathan

Madison Genesis

s.t.

112

KEISSE Iljo

Quick Step Floors

s.t.

113

BRIGGS Graham

JLT Condor

17:42

114

FERNANDES José

EF Education First-Drapac

18:42

115

ALBANESE Vincenzo

Bardiani CSF

28:15

116

POLITT Nils

Katusha-Alpecin

s.t.

Sunday, September 2: Stage 1, Pembrey County Park - Newport, 174.8 km

André Greipel takes the first stage

The race: Here's the organizer's stage one report:

Lotto Soudal’s André Greipel timed his sprint to perfection to win Stage One of the 2018 OVO Energy Tour of Britain in the City of Newport on Sunday and take the first Green Jersey of the race.

The experienced German beat Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-SCOTT) and Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) to claim the victory at the end of the 174.8-kilometre stage, which started in Pembrey Country Park, Carmarthenshire.

It was the German’s sixth stage victory in the race – he has now won stages in England, Scotland and Wales. Greipel said: “Winning Stage One brings the leader’s jersey with it, which is always a nice thing. This is a big race, so it’s prestigious to wear the jersey in it. We wanted to win a stage, so we’re happy that we made it possible on the first day.”

“I had a really good lead-out by Jasper de Buyst, so I’m happy that I could time it right and finish it off. We expected it to be a bunch sprint – I’m happy that I could win again."

With his opening day victory Greipel takes both the OVO Energy Green Jersey and Wahoo Points Jersey heading into the second stage in Devon on Monday.

A six-rider break had swept up most of the day’s honours, with Nic Dlamnini (Team Dimension Data) taking the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey and Matthew Bostock (Great Britain) the Eisberg Sprints Jersey.

As the race rolled through Carmarthenshire, Powys and Monmouthshire it was Rory Townsend (Canyon Eisberg) who was the last to be caught from the break, finally being reeled in approaching the final SKODA King of the Mountains climb at Belmont Hill on the edge of Newport, with under 10 kilometres remaining.

Team Sky’s pulling at the front of the peloton approaching the climb sparked an attack from home favourite Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), with the Tour de France champion creating a move that dragged clear Quick-Step Floors duo Julian Alaphilppe and Bob Jungles over the top. The latter held on to his slender advantage until hitting Usk Way, being swept up by the BMC-led peloton under the one-kilometre to go marker, before his team-mate Gaviria hit out at the head of the sprint.